20T2 OS Survey

The myexperience survey result for this year is available as a PDF here.

As background, 20T2 was a one-off second running of OS provided as a catch-up opportunity to students who missed their chance to do OS in 2020 due to COVID-19 related factors in 20T1.

Like 20T1, the course used the same pre-recorded lectures from 19T1, ran tutorials online using blackboard collaborate, ran very similar assignments, and provided support via consults and Piazza. The main difference between 20T1 and 20T2 was the number of students enrolled.

So it is interesting that the course's overall satisfaction rating dropped from being one of the highest in CSE in 20T1 to something lower than I'm happy with - for the same course run in the same way as 20T1. The other metrics also dropped.

The number of survey respondents was pretty low (only 18), so maybe the survey is not entirely indicative.

Assuming the survey is indicative, my suspicion is that with the low number of enrollments there was not a critical mass of activity on Piazza that provides both peer support and gives me the opportunity to provide mentoring and guidance where needed for a particular cohort. Also of note, very few (I can remember just two) students took advantage of the 1-on-1 consultations available with me.

The few survey comments seem pretty consistent that students sorely missed the face-to-face learning with peers, tutors, and myself that was absent due to COVID-19.

It's unclear to me what to take away from this term for the post-COVID-19 world and the return to large classes. The main take-away for me is that if I ever run a small class again, I'll need to figure out how to improve the interactivity.

Thanks again for your input.